The Lego franchise seems to be showing diminished returns. Perhaps you can only go to the well so many times without delivering something fresh and different?

... What made The Lego Movie so delightful was how it transcended its corporate roots and felt surprising. What made that film surprising makes this feel too familiar. Herein lies the downside of pulling off a seemingly impossible trick: once you perform the same trick enough times, the surprise of its success wears off. ...

The Lego Movie excelled at being different, and more off-kilter, than other animated films. The Lego Ninjago Movie feels not just like its predecessors, but other studios’ family fare. The last thing any of these movies should feel is watered down.

Meantime, The Emojoi Movie is down in the teens of the box office list, with $84.4 million in the kitty.